**spoiler alert** Before i say my opinion , you must understand i read this book (which is full of examples) without writing or testing the code sampl**spoiler alert** Before i say my opinion , you must understand i read this book (which is full of examples) without writing or testing the code samples, so i am highly biased !
Though i have read the first book of the author and it remains one of my favourite programming books, i feel this one was really cumbersome to underatand even having prior Erlang knowledge and despite the author explaining the concepts related to Property Based Testing really well.
The problem in my opinion is the language itself, Erlang. I found the examples written in it not suitable to understand what is going on there. The Erlang macros were really annoying and there is too much to understand about the framework PropEr and not about property based testing.
What i understood quite frankly from the begining is that you can't really do property based testing without an already mature existing framework on it....and this basically becomes learning a new framework....
I wad interested more in the theoretical concepts and how they could be used in general. I would have enjoyed less code and the content to be language agnostic....more
**spoiler alert** Tin minte, cum, la orele de istorie ni s-a vorbit despre glorioasa campanie din Carpati din 1916 , cum romanii au trecut muntii sa e**spoiler alert** Tin minte, cum, la orele de istorie ni s-a vorbit despre glorioasa campanie din Carpati din 1916 , cum romanii au trecut muntii sa elibereze Transilvania...si, mai tin minte si cum in toamna aceluiasi an , unitatile nemtesti blocate in acea vara pe frontul de vest (Marna, Somme, Verdun) s-au intors pe melagurile noastre si i-au pus pe ai nostri in retragere.
Apoi aflam, cum si bulgarii deschideau front in sudul munteniei si, cum, incet incet, frontul romanesc incepe sa dea inapoi....tot drumul (toata Campia Romana) pana in Moldova , abandonand totul (inclusiv Capitala).
Ce nu mi-sa spus este modul in care s-a desfasurat aceasta retragere.
Aceasta carte zugraveste toamna-iarna lui 1916 in care s-a desfasurat aceasta retragere ce reprezinta fara doar si poate, un dezastru national, care, cumva s-a tinut sub covor pana de curand.
Stefan Zeletin face parte din armata 1 romana, cea care a fost incartiruita in Moldova si trimisa in zona Pitesti sa stabilizeze frontul sa opreasca inaintarea nemtilor si sa ajute unitatile armate din muntenia. Armata aceasta a devenit ulterior protagonista acestei retrageri.
Nu a fost o retragere, a fost o fuga continua, in care nu s-a mai tinut cont de ordine , de pregatire militara, o fuga datorata incompetentei si nesimtirii statului major fata de propria armata.
S-a ajuns in situatia in care soldatii au fost nevoiti sa fuga sute de kilometri de dusman, cazand si murind de foame prin santuri, jefuind casele oamenilor din disperare.
Obositi de la zile intregi de marsuri de noapte, fara oprire (spre a nu fi incercuiti) , jegosi , fara arme, sau cu arme, dar, folosindu-le pe post de bate, fiindca nu primisera cartuse la ele, cu moralul distrus, rupti de regimentele si batalioanele lor , incontinuu hartuiti de mitraliere si obuzele dusmane, totul in timp ce statul major nu incearca in nici un fel sa asigure coeziunea , sa asigure ca rezervele acopera retragerea liniei intai , ca artileria acopera infanteria.
In mod normal, cand linia intai e strapunsa, rezerva si artileria trebuie sa ii acopere retragerea. In acest episod al Romaniei, artileria si rezerva ori de cate ori primeau stirea ca frontul e strapuns, erau primele care plecau, lasand linia intai intr-o continua fuga,dezolare si confuzie.
Nu numai ca plecau dar de cele mai multe ori nici nu dadeau de stire unitatilor de pe front.
Inchipuiti-va regimente intregi din linia intai dupa o zi epuizanta de lupta, plecau in mars organizat spre (initial) un anume sat crezand ca rezerva lor a pregatit o pozitie fortificata. Cand intrau in sat nu era urma de roman, dar dadeau piept cu mitralierele germane proaspat instalate pe acoperisurile caselor.
Soldatii ai sergentii erau obligati sa sada in pozitii ziua si sa fuga noaptea pe drumuri laturalnice si paduri spre a nu fi incercuiti. Si asta s-a intamplat pe intreaga distanta de 320 km , distanta dintre Pitesti si Focsani ! Zi de zi !
Singura deviza a statului major era : "inapoi pe front ca altfel pun artileria pe voi nenorocitilor', apoi pleca.
Stefan Zeletin estimeaza ca armata romana a pierdut usor peste 120 000 oameni in aceasta retragere, o majoritate covarsitoare datorita foamei si a oboselii , nicidecum a gloantelor dusmane.
Este surprinzator ca, cumva, ajungand armata la Focsani , in decurs de numai cateva luni, sub ajutotul misiunii franceze in Moldova , a reinviat din propria cenusa , si a oprit inaintarea germana in vara lui 1917 (glorioasele lupte de la Marasesti , Marasti si Oituz).
Romanii, sunt un neam brav si muncitor, doar ca, cumva ajungem mereu sa fim prinsi cu chilotii in vine in marile intemperii ale istoriei, si cumva, fix in acele momente, cand avem nevoie de o mana forte, de o calauza, cineva care sa preia fraiele, ajungem sa fim condusi de diversi "ilustri" anonimi. Pana la urma sub frica distrugerii totale, ne redresam si cu fatalitatea dar si ingeniuitatea balcanica razbim, luam deciziile bune, iesim cumva la suprafata, dar cu mari costuri, mai ales cu costuri care puteau fi evitate..... Apoi din aceste experiente nu tragem invataminte, dupa aceste episoade nu ne invatam minte....revenim iar in aceeasi mirobolanta ignoranta si indiferenta...si ciclul se repeta....more
**spoiler alert** Precum dintii de fierastrau - ciclul plictisitor-deosebit de captivant se tot repeta. Se incheie in mult alcool si oameni distrusi ti**spoiler alert** Precum dintii de fierastrau - ciclul plictisitor-deosebit de captivant se tot repeta. Se incheie in mult alcool si oameni distrusi tipic Fitzgerald...more
**spoiler alert** Mare cocainar Paler asta, jumatate din carte am crezut ca omul e pe heroina/cocaina sau ceva psihedelice....cand defapt a scris poat**spoiler alert** Mare cocainar Paler asta, jumatate din carte am crezut ca omul e pe heroina/cocaina sau ceva psihedelice....cand defapt a scris poate romanul cu bataia cea mai lunga din ce am citit.
A construit o intreaga luma/scenariu/"script" in jurul ideii de frica de cum frica afecteaza societatea.
Este prima oara cand cineva isi ia indatorirea de a explica atat de laborios cat de nemernica este frica in societate si indiferenta fata de semenii nostri.
Fiecare dintre noi in goana noastra prin viata decidem sa ne izolam cu un asa numit "dom de sticla" , dom prin care nu mai putem auzi necazurile altora, tipetele lor de ajutor. Gonim uitandu-ne doar in fata zicandu-ne ca nu e problema noastra sa ii ascultam pe ceilalti cand in definitiv oricum cu totii ajungem in acelasi loc.
Poate cea mai grozava idee este aceea ca frica naste mai multa frica si incet incet, daca nu actionam, daca toti ne retragem in grota noastra sigura ca sa traim, societatea cade prada fricii, se degradeaza, iar cei ce favorizeaza frica capata puteri din ce in ce mai mari.
Mi-sa parut superb modul in care autorul spune ca mai vinovat decat Robespierre pentru toate crimele comise in timpul revolutiei franceze a fost insasi multimea. Multimea care de frica doar a asistat , a privit esafodul in timp ce executiile se desfasurau in lant. Multimea e cea mai vinovata , oamenii care au acceptat toate acestea de frica sau ca pe un spectacol.
Poate cel mai interesant a fost faptul ca executiile lui Robespierre ar fi continuat mult si bine caci avea gloata in jurul lui agregata ori de spaima ori pentru spectacol, pana cand dusmanii sai au trimis politisti sa-l inhate facand o declaratie multimii cum ca cei ce il sustin vor ajunge pe esafod si ei. In acel moment gloata s-a dezintegrat lasand-ul pe Robespierre prada celor cativa politisti.
Imi pare ca aceeasi situatie o gasim si in cadrul Orientului Mijlociu. Degeaba ni-se spune ca Islamul este o religie a pacii si ca doar X% din credinciosi sunt radicali. Daca restul de 99 % dosr asista si accepta inseamna ca tolereaza si ca sunt de acord cu asta. Multimea este mai nemernica si mai vinovata decat calaul si cel ce ordona aceste fapte oribile !
Cartea dupa mine, e un apel la societate intru lepadarea letargiei si a fricii noastre de zi cu zi. Vezi un seaman care tipa/care sufera, dute si intreaba-l ce a patit, nu il ignora crezand ca nu e treaba ta, caci facand aceasta doar te minti singur ca nu e problema ta, te retragi in cosmelia ta si raul castiga teren, empatia dispare,raul mai castiga un pic teren in ziua aceea
Am stat destul de mult sa deliberez ce nota sa dau acestei opere. Daca la 50% voiam sa ii ofer un maxim 2/5 dupa 90% pot spune ca am vazut in sfarsit imaginea de ansamblu , de ce a stat atata sa construiasca acest univers , aceasta fabula. Totusi cred ca m-as fi putut lipsi de mult din ce a scris. Daca ar fi fost doar partea de argumentare presarata cu argumentele istorice invocate ar fi fost un 5/5 fara doar si poate.
P.S daca va apucati sa o cititi, mergeti pana la capat chiar daca vi-se va parea ca consumati refularile, spasmele mentale ale unui nebun cu scte in regula, ale unui schizofrenic !...more
**spoiler alert** Cum as putea sa rezum in doar cateva randuri povestea multigenerationala a familiei Krupp , cea care a inarmat Prusia , Al Doilea Re**spoiler alert** Cum as putea sa rezum in doar cateva randuri povestea multigenerationala a familiei Krupp , cea care a inarmat Prusia , Al Doilea Reich , al Treilea Reich si RFG-ul ?
O opera pe cat de imensa cuprinzand istoria Krupp (1570-1970) pe atat de usor de citit.
1000 de pagini de istorie politica, istorie tehnica, geopolitica, razboi , si masinatiuni antreprenoriale la nivel global.
Personal am apreciat cel mai mult perioada 1850-1914 , perioada renasterii germane pe plan politic , teritorial si militar.
Am apreciat enorm nivelul de documentare si detaliu acordat istoriei procesuluiui de producere al otelului inca din pruncia sa la final de secol XVIII cand se experiementa cu diverse valturi, pana la presele mamut de zeci de tone de dupa al doilea razboi mondial.
Krupp a reprezentat timp de 200 de ani Germania , relatiile conducatorilor firmei cu conducatorii tarii (Bismarck, Wilhelm , Hitler, Adenauer) fiind de natura simbiotica.
Intre 1850-1970 dinastia a produs armament atat pentru Germania cat si pentru intregul mapamond, tunurile sale ajungand in Istanbul, Pekin, Rio de Janeiro, Cairo sau Tokyo. Pe langa tunuri "die Firma" a produs tancuri, tunuri, mortiere, submarine, crucisatoare, blindaje, aliaje, mitraliere dar si furnale pentru crematorii , turnuri de supraveghere pentru lagarele de concentrare si multe altele.
De-a lungul existentei sale Kruppianerii au incercat intotdeauna sa produca initial pentru industria grea civila dar din nefericire castigurile reduse i-au readus intotdeauna in industria de razboi.
In secolul XIX Krupp a livrat locomotive si cai ferate pentru Sua, Sudan si Orientul mijlociu , iar mai tarziu dupa WW2 firma sub obladuirea lui Alfried Krupp s-a diversificat increidibil in lumea a 3-a livrand la cheie laminoare, cocserii, fabrici intregi, camioane pentru cariere, masini-unelte pentru preluxrarea diverselor aliaje.
Am apreicat detaliile Razboiului Franco-Prusac din 1870 cand francezii au fost obliterati de primele tunuri din otel turnat acesta marcand definitiv eliminarea tunurilor din bronz.
Capitolele cel mai plicticoase (pentru mine) au fost paradoxal cele curpinzand WW2. S-a pus mult prea mult accent pe holocaust , pe sclavii rusi, evrei si polonezi care munceau pe branci in turnatoriile si laminoarele Krupp si modul in care erau batuti, bruscati , infometati , lasati sa moara si trimisi in crematoriile groazei. Stiam aceste lucruri iar ce nu stiam (gradul de implicare al corporatiilor germane) intuiam.
Poate cel mai fabulos este faptul ca mai toti barbatii Krupp au fost oameni deosebit de incercati de soarta , traind vieti aspre, fara rea multe placeri , dedicandu-se intru total firmei, a renumelui pe care l-au mostenit si incercand sa mareasca avutia si prestigiul acesteia de la generatie la generatie. Ultimul mostenitor al firmei, Arnold Krupp, a decis ca el va face lucrurile diferit , el va TRAI pentru EL si nu pentru FIRMA, si a facut ceea ce intemeitorul Alfred Krupp s-ar fi rasucit in mormand - a vandut-o , aceasta devenind o societate pe actiuni, actuala Thyssen Krupp de astazi.
**spoiler alert** After this book , i'm going to Malta soon ! This book is so intense and captivating and rich in detail and history and warfare that i**spoiler alert** After this book , i'm going to Malta soon ! This book is so intense and captivating and rich in detail and history and warfare that i can't praise it enough !
Its like Lord of The Rings - the battle for Helm's Deep with three fortresses instead of one. The Orcs and Uruk Hai would be the Ottomans (some ~30-40 000 people, including some 8000 Jannissaries, the best infantry of the 16 century and additional Iayalar fanatics , Algerians, Egyptian sappers, Serbians and even Romanians) The defenders would be 500 Knights of Saint John with abother 7500 maltese soldiers.
The siege of Malta represented the beginning of the end of the Ottoman expansion into the west Mediteranean ,(the end being the Battle of Lepanto).
The Knights of Saint John in the 16 century were the last knight order formed during the Crusades. After having to flee from Akko for Rhodes they were inevitably laid siege upon by the the Ottomans in 1522.
They had to surender and leave yet again, and wander and be nomads and corsairs for the next 20 years asking the kings of Western Europe for a domain for their Order. The Spanish Crown eventually gave them the barren island of Malta.
It is here where where the Grand Master La Valette had the foresight to create defenses knowing all too well that sometime during his life the Ottomans will set their eyes upon this strategic location.
The ottomans arrived in the spring of 1565 and started the greatest siege that ever existed.
The only hope for the Knights of St John ? Hold out as much as possible hoping reinfircements will arrive from Sicily.
The heroism , the barbary , the courage , resolve , wit , cunning of both forces is incredible. Its like a game of chess where each side tries to outplay the other ever changing its tactics.
Stellar the 30% of this book explaining basic data science stuff like regression, decision trees, lifts, gains , profit curves as well as how datascieStellar the 30% of this book explaining basic data science stuff like regression, decision trees, lifts, gains , profit curves as well as how datascience solves real world problems (costumer churn) and all the stages of devising such a solution.
The problem afterwards is that it got quite verbose, a lot of text sprinkled with some (not many though) formulas and for me it got quite confusing and unnerving.
I was expecting more on the implementation part to be able to see the stages of deployment of data science models and the results but it wasn't to be.
There was just too much text talking about the formulas and the variables and i think this was worse than having more of said formulas.
**spoiler alert** This book is a eye opener for anyone trying to sell something. The simplest way to sell is basically to pick up the phone and start c**spoiler alert** This book is a eye opener for anyone trying to sell something. The simplest way to sell is basically to pick up the phone and start calling potential customers thus doing PROSPCTING. As a salesman you have to have your sales pipeline full , that means always looking for new customers wherever you are (job , vacation , restaurant) and CALLING them in order to categorize them , propose them , sell them , present them...there are no breaks for this.
There are no magic formulas, no social networks, no other alternative ways more effective than the intrusive one which stood the test of time, of disrupting a potential customer from whatever he is doing in the middle of the day, and listenting to your offer. Northing !
This book for the first 40% is a godsend for anyone on sales , anyone doing business, or considering prospects, since it presents how to get the courage of calling people , why is it the most important thing a salesman can do and how to overcome fears , rejection , brush offs and false leads.
Then the book goes into different prospecting channels like social media, events , shows , text and in person and gives advice and no-no's.
I loved the fact that i understood the daily struggle of a salesman , how he faces rejection day in and day out and the sheer discipline one needs to to have in order to be productive. The fact that he is constantly under duress, while needing to prospect and keep his database of prospects up to date.
**spoiler alert** Actiunea se petrece in Algeria undeva dupa al doilea razboi mondial.
Protagonistul este un tanar francez care este instrainat total d**spoiler alert** Actiunea se petrece in Algeria undeva dupa al doilea razboi mondial.
Protagonistul este un tanar francez care este instrainat total de societate , am putea spune un sociopat.
Nu isi plange mama aflat la priveghiul ei , nu simte nici o remuscare atunci cand omoara un arab , fapt ce il va trimite la inchisoare , loc unde din nou nimic.
Perspectiva este deosebit de interesanta , omul nostru intelege ce ar simti altii in situatia lui , dar el e sterp , se plictiseste atunci cand este interogat cu privire la conditia sa de prieteni, cunoscuti , preoti si mai tarziu in timpul procesului pentru omor de catre procuror si judecator.
Oamenii nu pot intelege/concepe ca exista astfel de semeni , oameni complet functionali care se pot integra total in societate dar care nu simt nimic.
Am putea spune ca protagonistul este idealul filozofiei stoice, filozofie ce pune accent pe detasare de cele lumesti , fie ele bune sau rele, pe acceptare/impacare cu tot ce vine in directia noastra...cu totii stim cat de greu ne este sa realizam acest lucru...personajul din acest roman face acest lucru natural.
Mi-a placut foarte mult locatia si perioada. Am ramas surprins ca intr-un loc precum Algeria existau atatea servicii sociale si institutii care functionau cum trebuie (inclusiv hingheri)....more
**spoiler alert** Volumul de fata este fara doar si poate o resursa impresionanta ce acopera situatia geopolitica a Europei rasaritene a secolului XV.**spoiler alert** Volumul de fata este fara doar si poate o resursa impresionanta ce acopera situatia geopolitica a Europei rasaritene a secolului XV.
Cred cu tarie ca titlul cartii este gresit ca induce in eroare cititorul si mai mult decat atat creeaza asteptari cu privire la subiectul principal si anume, Batalia de la Codrii Cosminului (1497) dintre Moldoveni si Poloni.
M-am delectat citind despre actorii europeni rasariteni ai vremii precum Ungaria , Boemia, Polonia , Hanatul Crimeii, Tarile Romane si bineinteles Imperiul Otoman. Imi sunt prezentate relatiile dintre acestia , organizarea interna a regiunilor, diplomatie , arme , tactica militara, si multe altele, si totul jucand rol de initiere de intelegere a situatiei pentru Marea Batalie ce avea sa aiba loc la Codrii Cosminului din 1497.
Inteleg ca nu au ramas multe izvoare istorice , dar sa citesc o intreaga carte ca sa ajung la punctul culminant, Batalia de la Codrii Cosminului si sa aflu ca este tratata sumar in 2 pagini e un pic dezamagitor.
Cu toate acestea lectura a fost placuta desi pe alocuri s-a vorbit mult prea.mult despre chestiuni non esentiale (particularitati ale unor personaje secundare ale vremii).
Batalia in sine e un macel , o ambuscada, si ilustreaza inca o data caracterul romanesc. Romanasii nostri in frunte cu Fane Babanul fac o tipica "romaneasca", atacand trupele poloneze in padure, asta DUPA ce tocmai semnasera tratat de pace si libera trecere (retragere) pentru oastea polona.(polonezi ce nu venisera ce-i drept cu ganduri pasnice pe meleagurile noastre).
Am gasit deosebit de interesant faptul ca Fane Babanul isi bagase coada de foarte multe ori in Tara Romaneasca impunand domnii lui pana in momentul in care boierii Valahi i-au zis sa plimbe ursul intr-o epistola deosebit de colorata ca limbaj.
Stefan al nostru a fost un diplomat de cariera, a stiut cand sa lupte contra turcilor, a si platit tribut (primul din Moldova) cand a fost cazul si poate cel mai interesant , a si folosit trupe otomane pentru a ataca Sudul Regatului Lituano-Polonez precum si in Batalia din Codrii Cosminului.
Tara Romaneasca si Moldova s-au luptat deosebit de des la jumatatea secolului XV datorita unor dispute de granita, defapt Stefan al nostru din cei 47 ani de domnie , doar 13 i-a petrecut luptand cu otomanii , 11 luptand impotriva Tarii Romanesti.
Armata formata din tarani liberi este doar un vis de adormit copii... Oastea lui Stefan era una profesionista alcatuita din boieri care aveau sarcina sa pregateasca si sa echipeze contingente armate proportionale cu avutia lor.
Am apreciat bogatia de informatie si varietatea surselor interne si mai ales externe de care s-a folosit autorul pentru a elabora cartea de fata. Cu toate acestea punctul culminant al cartii este unul mediocru in timp ce tot ceea ce vine inaintea sa este deosebit de interesant....more
**spoiler alert** This book served me as a gateway to Africa in so many ways.
The main thing i got, is that we should stop seeing jihadism and esential**spoiler alert** This book served me as a gateway to Africa in so many ways.
The main thing i got, is that we should stop seeing jihadism and esentially the field commanders (that is how they are called , the leaders of terror cells in different regiona throughout this book) and terror organisations as some plague some diseases , some virus that gets hold of the local population and makes them suffer.
We should see jihadists more like entrepreneurs, more like political agents. Whenever there is discontent within a country, whenever some minority, some ethnicity or tribe has a feud with another, a grieviance , something that they can't solve alone (they are either too weak , too few, lack finances or etc) , they tap into a helping hand...a hand which is usually a terror organisation that wants to open shop in that country.
The locals use the jihadists groups as much as jihadis use them. Many times the state is alot worse than terror groups , such being the case in the Sahel, the stretch of land south of Sahara encompassing Mauritania, Mali, South Algeria, Niger , Burkina Faso, Chad , North Nigeria and Sudan.
The book is about how jihadi field commanders operate at a meso level , how they navigate through complex a complex web of relationships with locals , state authorities, foreign gonverments, tribes and of course each other, how they employ diverse tactics of collusion , schism , accomodation etc and how they fared in each of these Sahelian countries , where they found support in local discontented youth , villagers , politicians , where they were evicted , where they just as entrepreneurs took a bigger bite than they could chew and ended up annihilitated ( ex: in 2013 their jihad went from North Mali to Mid Mali , city of Mopti , which triggered a French military intervention - Operation Serval, which wiped them out).
This book taught me so much about what a big role geography plays into the development of a country, also how important ethnical lines are around Africa (arabs , berbers, touareg , Fulani etc) , minorities, how gonverment deals with terrorism, and how true the old adage "violence breeds violence" is.
Some facts i got - how pourous the borders really are in the Sahel , the gonverments focusing on the central power leaving peripheries at the mercy of local militias and drug traffikers , thus serving as a great recruiting ground of young discontented people into terror organizations. - terrorist organizations emerged in Algeria in the 90s when algerians that fought in Afghanistan against the russians came back and started grouping against the "infidel state that is a pawn of France" Thus came GIA , a terror organization that wrecked havoc agaisnt the state , an organization very diverse with very different terror groups , diversity which in the end proved to be their undoing once the unifying figures got killed fighting the Algerian state. The problem in GIA was that there was alot of infighting , no compromise and everybody.was calling the other infidel. The groups that emerged afterwards understood that they can function and tolerate each other without sparking religious incriminations. By the time these groups emerged the Algerian state recovered and started systematically dismantling them, thus Al Queada had to move shop from Algeria to.North Mali and then Burkina Faso and Niger - Mauritania is probably the country that reached a middle ground with jihadis employing a stick and carrot approach , letting preachers speak freely against USA , Israel but closely monitoring them - Mali is the real shitshow here , a place where Touareg , Arabs , Blacks , Fulani have to deal with draught, declining resources, state brutality and French foreign interventions. How so many times one of these ethnicities welcomed foreign jihadi aid to leverage against another actor. - Niger is so poor but yet so important serving as a gateway and transport hub for jihadis into the Sahel and beyond. - Burkina Faso serves as an example of how a minority (Fulani) can radicalize itself very quickly due to discrimination and be taken up by a convincing jihadi leader
**spoiler alert** The book covers the controversial life of irish patriot Roger Casement a man that gained the highest prestige and esteem while servi**spoiler alert** The book covers the controversial life of irish patriot Roger Casement a man that gained the highest prestige and esteem while serving as a diplomat and investigator for the British crown in regards to abuses and atrocities done by Belgians in Congo and then Peruvians in Peru on local populations all in the name of "progress and civilisation" (rubber production), the same man which would then become one of the strongest fighters for Irish freedom and turn its back to England , and would eventually travel during WW1 to germany trying to recruit irish Prisoners of War to form an army which would fight along Germany and thus be helped to gain independence. The irish prisoners would not agree to fight alongside those that bombed them in the trenches and thus Roger suffers a great delusion. A revolt in Ireland would start nonetheless which would end in bloodshed but would galvanize the irish spirit in the years to come. Not gaining the germany support he would get caught in Ireland trying to stop the revolt , then suffer a huge campaign in which he would get discredited, prosecuted and sent to death for high treason. Due to being a homosexual and noting in his diary many of his escapades as well as fantasy encounters his memory, name and deeds would be censored by Irish authroities (catholic country) until decades later when his name would be cleared and declared both a national hero of Ireland but also a hero against slavery and freedom.
This dude starts as a british explorer sent to Leopoldine Congo to study how the colony is doing. He discovers that behind the false colonial bravado that the belgian regime is bringing civilisation and wealth to the black indigens it is actually leading a murderous operation in which the locals are worked to death to extract very high quotas of rubber , their wives are raped and confined to make them work more , brutality , marking of men with iron and every kind of atrocity is done without remorse and everywhere and at each level there is a tacit agreement and understanding between thr parties. He travels within congo for many years noting everything he sees and then writes a report to the British Foreign Office.
His report goes viral and soon England finds itself having to cut ties with Belgium even if it risks making the latter get closer to rival Germany. Roger gains world recognition and is then sent to Amazonia (modern Peru) to investigate the activities of large british-peruvian rubber company operating deep within the jungle.
After throrough investigation he finds Congo repeating itself there....the company performing all atrocities in locals and effectively wiping out entire tribe populations.
It is at this time that Roger starts to tinker with his Irish origins and after finishing his job in Peru of exposing the company and making it go bankrupt, he starts travelling to Germany (by now ww1 started). He tries to recruit irish prisoners of war and make them go to Ireland and fight against the british. He is spat, shamed and called names by his countrymen. They would not collaborate with the germans. He does not manage to get too many recruits and he knows that the imminent revolt in Ireland will end in bloodshed without german support.
Before the revolt he tries to get to Ireland and stop the revolt. He is found and taken prisoner hy the british and sent to jail and condemned for high treason. The revolt ends in bloodshed with most irish fighters dead or captured and sentenced to death. He is sentenced to death and spends his last days rummaging through memories and trying to make sense of his choices, his cause, his spirit, his religion. He is hanged. Decades later his name will remerge as one of the most important irish patriots.
I gave this book 3 stars because after the first 50 pages till page 150 quite cumbersome, the narrative is quite confusing moving between the last moments spent in his cell and his beginings in Congo. After this point the novel becomes really good and graphic and you can see its well researched in regards to both Congo and Peru....more
**spoiler alert** This is the go to book for understanding the slave trade.
It describes literally every issue regarding the slave trade with the cente**spoiler alert** This is the go to book for understanding the slave trade.
It describes literally every issue regarding the slave trade with the center position being the slave ship. The book describes how slave ships were being built in UK and USA , how they were fitted and retrofitted to stow , carry , comtain , feed , discipline , kill both slaves and sailors. We meet the actors : the slaves , the sailors , the captains ,and the ones that made everything possible , the merchants. It describes the africans , their socieites , relations and even testimonies on how they got kidnapped and forced to walk even 1000 miles from inside the continent to the sea. Getting on a slave ship for a black was "The point of no return" as none (besides some notable exceptions) would ever get back to their homeland.
How a voyage would go :
Basically you have one merchant that pays up to 300k usd (today money) builds a ship , finds a captain. The captain goes to the docks and fools some sailors or gets them out of jail in return for manning the ship.
The ship then is loaded with food , wine, rum, weapons and trade manufacuturing items to be traded for slaves in Africa.
The ship sails from UK to one of the 7 regions of Africa at the Atlantic (Senegambia, Windeard and Gold coast - Ghana today , Bight of Benin , Bight of Biafra - East Nigeria , Congo , Angola) . This is known as the Outward Passage
It stays on the coast for several months to gather slaves. (Waiting for black merchants/milititas to bring "war prisoners" as they would call them when in reality the people broughht were mostly kidnapped from their villages).
Slaves are mostly villagers that are kidnapped by other tribes and sold to european ships for rum and weapons.
When the ship is full it heads to Caraibbean or US colonies in the hardest part of the voyage known as the Middle Passage.
Upon reaching "the New World" slaves are sold and unloaded. The ship goes back to the UK in what was known as the Homeward Passage. The captain and the mates collects his pay and also stake, the remaining sailors drink their money in the next 3 weeks.
You basically get a triangular global trade. UK merchants and US ones fund the voyages. The ships bring the workforce from Africa to the plantations of cotton and sugar in US and Carraibbean. Many times the money from these pkantations goes into building new ships and nee voyages and you get a self-reinforcing circle.
During the voyage somewhere around 11% of the "cargo" perishes. A ship carries 1 slave per ton usually, and a medium sized ship has 200-300 tons.
Its needless to talk about the horrific lives of the negroes kidnapped in Africa.
What amazed me was how wretched the life of the common sailor was , many times worse than that of the slaves.
Sailors would be beaten to death and malnourshied and many times left to die on the Middle Passage just for the captaim to get their money.
This book is an enciclopedia of the slave trade in its heyday during the 18 century i would've given it 5 stars if the author didn't put so many stories and a little politically corectness here and there.
The fact is , the white man was not the only one that should be put to blame for this trsgedy. Blacks would enslave blacks and kidnap them for weapons , rum and manufacturing items, also arabs....its a collective fault....more
**spoiler alert** Started the book expecting some hard drama/thriller, "X strangers stranded in a bus during a storm". This book wasn't the case. Its a**spoiler alert** Started the book expecting some hard drama/thriller, "X strangers stranded in a bus during a storm". This book wasn't the case. Its about different people from different walks of life sharing a bus ride in southern California, each with his own insecurity, dreams and all looking for something in post World War 2 America. Due to the unusual course of the ride each of them is taken out of their cofmort zone and their true colors are marvellous.
The reason its marked with 3 stars instead of 4 is because i felt the author lingered too much in the intro and one particular character, while abruptly ending when the story gets juicy. I really wanted to share the ride a couple more miles with the characters...
The book is open ended and the idea of free will is contoured, which i felt was like a draft or experimenting on the part of the author before writing the masterpiece East of Eden , 5 years later.
I really enjoyed the way a character is first seen and stereotyped by others and then we get into his mind ajd thoughts, and we see the beauty in each Jane/Joe Doe with his feelings, trauma/frustrstions , dreams and aspirations....more
**spoiler alert** This book was total garbage ! Lots of unnecessary pages, characters and stories , just for the sake of writing! Hemingway was right w**spoiler alert** This book was total garbage ! Lots of unnecessary pages, characters and stories , just for the sake of writing! Hemingway was right when he said he doesnt need 100 words per sentence (like Faulkner) to write a good story.
Its a huge 600 page book which felt like a total drag. It feels like you are mining for gold and you find here and there small trinkets of gold which is the main story; these small grains of gold keep you on your toes, keep you going and hunkering down and resist abandoning the file of shit altogether.
The author repeats himself thinking he is emphasizing some key points, but its just useless descriptions which serve no purpose for the reader.
So from 600 pages the first 450 pages are like 10% main plot and 90% useless shit (gibberish that secondary characters say about the main ones or their miserable life , dark descriptions and senzations). Then, right when you are fkin tired of it all, he starts speeding up and unveiling the main plot in the last 100-150 pages.
Its not that i cant accept cliffhangers in a story, but i should feel.that the story shouldnprogress as i read it , not that im stuck in a limbo of repetitions until the very end, until the author decides to just unveil it at max speed .
I felt that the whole story was like a building and you just looked at it from the outside for the first 450 pages and then you entered the building very fast , and it couldve been filled with anything , literally anything , it was totally decoupled from what you have read while being outside the it.
Summary:
What the book is all about in a pharagraph:
White guy Thomas arrives in a village in 1833 Misissippi , builds a farm and marries a high society wife. He has two kids Henry and Judith. Henry goes to college where he meets Charles. They befriend. Charles and Henry visit Thomas for christmas. Charles thus meets Judith and starts planning to marry her. We later find out Charles is Henry's and Judith half brother from Thomas first marriage, when he worked and lived to make money in Haiti. Thomas repudiated first wife while fidning out she has black ancestry. Thomas tells Henry that Charles is his brother (hiding the black blood that runs through Charles veins). Civil war breaks out and Charles and Henry enlist and go fighting for the Confederation. During the next 4 years Henry contemplates the idea of approving the incestous marriage between his sister and half brother. He decides he is ok with it , up until Thomas merts him and tells him that Charles is of black ancestry. The absurdity and WTF moment is when you realise Henry was finally ok with the incestous marriage but will never tolerate a man of black ancestry to marry his sister. He goes back to Judith with Charles and shoots him right in front of Thomas house.
Trash book, trash author attitude towards the reader , for the first time i felt disrespected as a reader. You are way better off reading the damn resume , its so much wasted time i can't believe !
PS: maybe my experience would've been a bit different if i would've read it in English and not in Romanian , maybe the translation was a bit bad and i couldn't enjoy all the southern side stories and culture , so factor this in , also....more
**spoiler alert** I liked the begining chapters of this book and i really got quite a good grasp on F# programming (at least being able to read F# cod**spoiler alert** I liked the begining chapters of this book and i really got quite a good grasp on F# programming (at least being able to read F# code).
I didn't like the fact that the examples were too much into UI programming. Just too many complicated examples combining async, parallelism, and observables with MouseClick fkin events....too hard to grok.
F# in hindshight gets muddy when you start using C# constructs , C# syntactic sugar...
I was expecting the focus to be more on Data Science domains...more on domain modelling, maybe more on interfacing C# with F# (though the last one exists)
What i can say after reading this book is that F# should be used in decoupled modules treating exactly the business logic while trying to move all infrastructure code to C#.
A good book for intro, but i felt that Scott Wlaschin does a far better job in DDD with F# by keeping it simple, focusing on F# features (discriminated unions, async , monads etc...)...more
First 40% of this book is literally the history of the microchip, starting with the first transistor in late 50's designed by Shockley, tOutstanding !
First 40% of this book is literally the history of the microchip, starting with the first transistor in late 50's designed by Shockley, then mass produced in emerging companies like Texas Instruments and Fairchild initially for the Pentagon's guided missles used in Vietnam war then for general use.
We then hit the 60-70's when America outsources its production to Japan and loses its grip on memory chip DRAM technology. 3 engineers leave Fairchild and create Intel. In the 80's Intel loses market share to Japan which learned to integrate chips in consumer electronics (radios , walkman) via companies like Sony and Sharp.
Late 80's Intel gambles and leaves DRAM market and together with IBM and Bill Gates MSFT devise an alliance around IBM computers , running Windows OS , powered by Intel's x86 microchip architecture. This will dominate the next 30 years.
We also get to see how the smartphone arena changed the balance of pwoer from USA to Taiwan and how Intel refused to produce custom chips for the emerging Apple , thus throwing away a huge opportunity for divestment.
We get to understand the different types of chips (memory , logic and analog) and who specializes in what as well as the complex procedures required to.build a chip (design, production and assembly) and learn why everything now is centered around Taiwan's TSMC behemoth.
The transistor lessons are above par , as well as the complex machinery needed to build it nowadays via the process of litography , and why only Netherlands's ASML can do it (using no less then 460k parts ) including high precision lasers from Germany's Trumpf which in turn uses Carl Zeiss optics.
There are so many things explained regarding transistors , cpu's , memory , supply chains , the companies that design ,produce and consume (Intel, AMD, Nvidia, ARM, Micron , Huawei , Samsung , Apple) , world gonverments, USA trade war with China and the banning of Huawei....
This book is literally a compact enciclopedia involving topics such as history , electronics , science , politics , warfare and everything that has to do with microchips which is the new world's gold standard. Besides developers , and electronic nerds, people into tech and not only will find this book mind blowing !...more
**spoiler alert** There is no book i have read more penetrating both in depth and breadth on the internal workings of diplomacy, geopolitics and inter**spoiler alert** There is no book i have read more penetrating both in depth and breadth on the internal workings of diplomacy, geopolitics and international relations of the last 200 years like this one.
I knew Kissinger was a genius on foreign policy during Nixon's administration, but i didn't know he was such a world caliber historian.
The book starts explaining the difference between personal interest and the national interest and invokes the case of cardinal Richelieu during the 30 years war, who, despite being a staunch catholic, he departed from his beliefs and did whatever was necessary for his country's security , adopting a strategy known as "Raison d'etat" or national interest , playing his enemies between themselves.
The book covers most of the 19 century after Napoleon's defeat with all its crises , the perennial players : Austro Hungary , Ottomans, Germany (Prussia) , Russia , UK , Italy and the intricate web of relationships and reasoning behind their leaders. Special attention is given to the buildup of events which have led to world war I , buildup which started with the Crimean War dismantling Metternich's "concert of Europe", continuing with Italy reunification and the fatal year of 1870 when France was defeated at Sedan becoming a mortal enemy of the reunified Germany, seeking from then on to envelop the latter through an Alliance with Russia.
The book then moves to the 20 century covering the interesting parts of the pre WW1 dynamics of Europe , Germany's reemergence in the interwar period and then continues for the rest of the book with USA and USSR struggle during the cold war and the crises that have shaped american way of throught and as well as foreign relations. ( Berlin Blockade , Korea War , Vietnam , NATO and EU formation). Very thorough analysis of Teddy Roosevelt , Woodrow Wilson, FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, Nixon and Reagan presidencies, the rise of China to world power , and the triangle Washington-Beijing-Moscow during the Brezhnev era , the fall of USSR during Gorbachev and Reagan's tenures.
Nowadays many people see Americans as stupid and naive in their decisons , but they just didn't have experience in foreign policy, and thus lacked flexibility during the last century. They learned like all great powers that any advantage evaporates in time and there can only be so much to be done until overextension and erosion .
Americans are witnessing now in the 2020's the same thing France had after Napoleon , Britain at the end of the XIX century and USSR in the late 80s , which is exhaustion and decay, something that for me looks irreversible....That is, the juice , the energy of a nation can't flow forever and it will be interesting to see how american idealism will have to shift to national interest, to stop caring about democracy worldwide and focus on domestic issues, how USA from a superpower will become one of the many nations of the world.
I would have loved an updated version on this book covering at least the 2010 and i would definetly wanted to know what Kissinger thinks of this multipolar world that is emerging, about new blocks like BRICS and the rise of African nations.
It is funny how France has been the arch enemy of a united Germany after the Franco-Prussian war and fought 2 world wars and even after to keep it in check, to in the end decide that its power projection and significance in the world stage would depend on its relationship with her eastern neighbour in the second part of the XX century and pursuing a policy of unification and consolidation of Europe (EU).
Its also interesting to think that North Korea might have not existed if America would press forward during the Korean war to the chinese border and would have incorporated Pyongyang. We would have no Kim Jong Un now. America stopped right before xomplete victory due to fear of a Soviet intervention (which was the last thing Stalin wanted).
Same thing happened in Vietnam war, America having a phase of idealism and global interventionalism followed by its own doubts and stalemating and crumbling on itself.
Super, collosal, hollistic undertaking. A must read for anyone interested in why countries act in ways that look unreasonable and how foreign policy is dictated....more
Loading...
